Provided are an ion source and a mass spectrometer that reduce a dead volume of the connecting part of a pipe to a capillary. An ion source has a capillary and a pipe. The capillary has a large-diameter part that forms a capillary upstream-side end face on an upstream side. The large-diameter part has a large-diameter part downstream side face on a downstream side. The pipe has a pipe downstream end face on the downstream side. A capillary retaining unit has a hole through which the capillary downstream-side end face is passable and a face on which the large-diameter part downstream side face is installable. The ion source includes a pipe retaining unit that retains the pipe. The capillary retaining unit and the pipe retaining unit are disposed such that the capillary upstream-side end face contacts the pipe downstream end face to connect the capillary to the pipe.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An ion source comprising: a capillary into which a sample liquid solution is introduced, the capillary being configured to supply an ion or a droplet; and a pipe configured to supply a sample liquid solution to the capillary, wherein: the capillary has a capillary upstream-side end face on an upstream side, and has a capillary downstream-side end face on a downstream side, and an outer diameter of the capillary upstream-side end face is greater than an outer diameter of the capillary downstream-side end face; the capillary has a large-diameter part that forms the capillary upstream-side end face on the upstream side, and the large-diameter part has a large-diameter part downstream side face on the downstream side; the pipe has a pipe downstream end face on the downstream side; the ion source includes a capillary retaining unit configured to retain the capillary, the capillary retaining unit having an upstream end and a downstream end; the capillary retaining unit has a hole proximate to the upstream end of the capillary retaining unit through which the capillary downstream-side end face is passable and has a face on which the large-diameter part downstream side face is installable; the ion source includes a pipe retaining unit configured to retain the pipe; and the capillary retaining unit and the pipe retaining unit are disposed such that the capillary upstream-side end face contacts the pipe downstream end face to connect the capillary to the pipe, wherein the capillary retaining unit hole comprises a tapered part, the tapered part having a wider diameter at the upstream end of the capillary retaining unit and tapering to a narrower diameter downstream of the upstream end of the capillary retaining unit.
2. The ion source according to claim 1, wherein the capillary retaining unit is coupled to the pipe retaining unit through a direct-acting mechanism.
3. The ion source according to claim 2, wherein the direct-acting mechanism is a screwing mechanism.
4. The ion source according to claim 1, wherein the capillary retaining unit or the pipe retaining unit includes an elastic member.
5. The ion source according to claim 4, wherein the elastic member is a spring.
6. The ion source according to claim 4, wherein a positioning face of the capillary retaining unit is joined to a positioning face the pipe retaining unit, thereby the capillary retaining unit and the pipe retaining unit are positioned to each other and fixed.
7. The ion source according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the capillary upstream-side end face or the pipe downstream end face has a resin layer.
8. The ion source according to claim 1, wherein a rotation prevention mechanism configured to prevent relative rotation between the pipe and the capillary is included.
9. The ion source according to claim 1, wherein: the pipe retaining unit and the capillary retaining unit both have a conductive member; and the ion source includes a unit configured to make an electric potential of the conductive member of the pipe retaining unit and an electric potential of the conductive member of the capillary retaining unit equal.
10. The ion source according to claim 1, wherein the capillary retaining unit has a gas spray pipe.
11. A mass spectrometer comprising the ion source according to claim 1.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
October 15, 2020
February 4, 2025
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